COLONY BEACH MEMORIES

What’s the story behind The Colony Beach Club & Tennis Resort? Katie Klauber Moulton can tell you both sides of the story. Her father, Murf Klauber, was the visionary who reinvented the resort. She spent her childhood there, and in 1982, returned to serve as its general manager and eventually as president. Moulton has enough memories to write at least one book — and we hope she does. In the meantime, here’s a distillation of our fascinating chat.

Growing

UP

At The Colony

For me, The Colony was so much fun as a child and a teenager. Tennis, the beach, it was all right there. But I also worked in every department, including the restaurant, housekeeping, front desk reservations and so much more. It was the equivalent of a graduate school education in the hospitality industry.

MURF KLAUBER’S VISION FOR THE COLONY

My father envisioned a resort where families could vacation together — and he succeeded in making that a reality. He turned The Colony into one of nation’s first all-suite resorts. The parents had private bedrooms, and the kids could camp in the Murphy beds in the living room. Half of the units also had a second bedroom. As a result, whole families vacationed together — and loved it. This extended to multiple generations. When the kids grew up, they’d return with their own children.

Celebrity Visitors At The Colony

Dustin Hoffman, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Bobby Riggs, Tommy and Dick Smothers, George Bush, Marvin Hamlisch, Angela Bassett, James Taylor, Johnny Unitas … the list is endless!

Democratic Spirit

We stressed that all of our guests deserve the same attention and level of service. The Colony treated our stars like ordinary people and our ordinary people like stars.

The Murf Klauber Effect

My father wanted to have fun every day. He woke up and wanted to start having fun immediately. He’d go to sleep at night remembering all the fun he’d had. My father’s zest for life permeated the staff, the guests and even our vendors. It was like an electric charge in the air. People said they could feel it when they drove in through the gate.

THE COLONY’S SECRET SAUCE

I’d say that was our spirit of welcoming hospitality. The Colony welcomed guests of all ages, origins and incomes from all over the world and just across the bridge. We welcomed the community to our Stone Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival, our Fourth of July Beach Barbecue and so many other events. Making people feel welcome really was our secret. At The Colony, it was a way of life, not words on a doormat.

Proudest Accomplishments At The Colony

So many. First, for creating magical memories for thousands of families. Second, for starting the careers of so many fabulous chefs in the area. Sean Murphy, Raymond Arpke, Jamil Pineda — and my brother, Tommy Klauber, of course!

Longboat Key

The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort once seemed like an eternal landmark in the middle of Longboat Key. Developer Herb Field launched the resort in 1952. In the early years, the Colony’s hotel guests checked into rustic beach cottages. Nothing fancy. But celebrities and jet-setting travelers fell in love with the place. Their love affair extended to Longboat Key — and helped make it a global tourist destination. Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber purchased the property in 1970 and reinvented it as a fourstar tennis resort. In its heyday, the nearly 18-acre resort boasted 237 condominium units, three restaurants, a gourmet market, a tennis boutique and 21 tennis courts — along with a world-acclaimed tennis program led by Nick Bollettieri. But despite its firstclass status, The Colony never put on airs. The Monkey Bar offered incontrovertible proof of its egalitarian ethos. People from all walks of life hung out here, including artists, writers, politicos and celebs. (The actual simians were safely contained in a mural on the bar’s wall.) The Colony was sometimes referred to as Klauber’s private kingdom, and visitors clearly loved his kingdom’s relaxed vibe. But as time passed, not all of The Colony’s condo owners felt the love. Guests. Owners. How do you keep them both happy? Serving two masters is notoriously difficult. At The Colony, it ultimately proved to be impossible. In 2010, the resort closed

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Continued from Page 86 its doors due to legal complications worthy of a Carl Hiaasen novel. Longboat Key got a little more respectable — and a little less fun.

The Buccaneer Inn sounds like a restaurant for pirates. Jolly idea, but nay. ’Twere more like a family restaurant what served up great steak or fishy fare with a side order of romantic pirate hokum. Mom and Dad could carve into their rare rib-eyes and exchange significant looks. Betimes their tots could dig their tiny fists into a sawdustfilled treasure chest — and pull up a glorious booty of chocolate doubloons and plastic ray guns. (As a kid, I had that experience and decided that eating out was fun.) This Herb Field fellow, remember him from the Colony? Well, he were the restaurateur/developer who created this happy place in 1957. Fun had always been his idea of treasure. Arrr, but a new generation of developers had another definition and took Field’s rollicking restaurant off the map in 2005. Now all the jolly pirates have been laid away to rest. And so has the Buccaneer Inn.